DETROIT -- Whatever doubt loomed over whether Detroit Tigers starter Max Scherzer could snap out of his spring funk has been, in all senses of the word, eviscerated.

Scherzer had a 10.32 ERA in spring training. He yielded 11 earned runs in his final start before breaking camp, then allowed four homers and six runs in his season debut against the New York Yankees.

And he has done nothing but become more dominant in every ensuing start since, culminating with Sunday’s 3-0 win at Comerica Park. The victory gave Detroit back-to-back shutouts and a three-game sweep against the reeling Chicago White Sox.

"Sometimes, guys aren’t at their peak when they’re coming out of spring training," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. "That’s doesn’t mean they’re not ready to pitch, because they are, but you have to get into the flow of things.

"In the second half of last season, he was one of the best pitchers in all of baseball, and now, he’s just starting to get into his flow this year. And we think he can be even better."

With the victory, Detroit (12-10) pulled even with the Kansas City Royals for second place in the American League Central -- with a weekend series against first-place Cleveland looming. It also put 3 1/2 games between the Tigers and the White Sox.

Scherzer (4-0, 3.19 ERA) had flirted with trouble in most of his outings this year, even his best ones, and was 3-0 on the season due, in part, to his American League-best run support.

But the right-hander was in control for all eight of his innings in this one. Only three White Sox runners reached second, and none advanced to third.

Scherzer allowed four hits -- all singles -- and three walks in his eight scoreless innings. He struck out seven.

"Max was able to locate with all three pitches," said Detroit catcher Alex Avila, who started in each game of this series.

"That keeps hitters off balance. When they can’t eliminate pitches, and they have your entire repertoire to think about, it makes you tough to beat."

Scherzer’s outing is an extension of the performances provided by Detroit’s rotation the past two weeks. The starters sport a 3.05 ERA in their past 18 outings. They posted quality starts in 14 of those games.

In three games against Chicago, Detroit starters held the White Sox to three runs and nine hits in 22 innings. Not to be outdone, the bullpen didn’t allow a single run.

Overall, Detroit pitching blanked the White Sox in the final 20 innings of the series, holding them to 2-for-26 hitting with runners on base and 0-for-9 hitting with runners in scoring position.

Masterful stuff.

"At the major league level, it’s not who you play, it’s when you’re playing them, and we happened to catch them when they weren’t hitting," Leyland said. "But you know they’re eventually going to pound the ball.

"You just try to get as many (wins) as you can when you can. Every (game) you get in the win column is one you can’t lose. And we’ll take it."

The White Sox have lost 10 of their past 11 games, and have dropped their past nine games to the Tigers, the longest such streak since 1949-50.

Not that Scherzer was taking anything for granted.

"It doesn’t matter how they’re playing, what they’re swinging like," he said. "You’ve got to come with your ‘A’ game and be ready."

The right-hander brought his "A" game -- just not right away.

Scherzer said he struggled to locate his fastball early, but the effectiveness of his offspeed pitches helped keep Chicago’s hitters off balance.

"Then, when I started to command my fastball, that’s when I started to have success," he said.

Scherzer’s ability to command all three pitches -- on both sides of the plate -- made him tough to beat. It was an elixir for his growing pitch counts, which have plagued him of late.

It’s a problem Tigers’ ace Justin Verlander also had as a young pitcher, but one that he has harnessed as he has matured.

Leyland said he sees the same growth in Scherzer.

"(He made) just some really tough pitches to hit, and particularly to put the good part of the bat on the ball," Leyland said. "That was the best he’s pitched all year."

Avila not only caught Scherzer’s gem, but broke a scoreless tie in the fourth inning with a bases-loaded, broken-bat groundout to second that scored Miguel Cabrera from third.

Avila also laced a two-out, sixth-inning single with nobody on that started a two-run rally. He scored on a double down the left-field line by Brandon Inge, then Austin Jackson drove in Inge for the Tigers’ final run.

Avila, who batted .228 last year, is hitting .321 and has a hit in seven of his past eight games. He also has at least one RBI in four consecutive games.

Jose Valverde pitched a scoreless ninth inning to pick up his fifth save in as many opportunities.